Locomotive-superheater.



- Patented July 4, 1916.

'Illilllllll IIIIIIIIII wuemtoz JOHN PRIMROSE, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

LOCOMOTIVE-SUPERHEATER.

Original application filed August 5, 1914,

Specification of Letters Patent.

' Patented July 4, 1916.

Serial No. 855,081. Divided and this application filed August 11,

1915. Serial No. {14,899.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, JOHN PRIMROSE, a subject of the King of Great Britain, residing at New York, in the county and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Locomotive- Superheaters, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

This application is a division of my copending application, Serial No. 855,081, filed August 5, 1914, for locomotive superheaters.

The invention relates to an improvement in superheaters, and has to do particularly with the type of superheater in which the individual units or elements are projected rearwardly from the smoke box into the fire tubes of the locomotive or other boiler.

The invention resides more particularly in the novel arrangement of the header and elements, so that one superheating unit or element, although its end portions be substantially behind other end portions, may be individually removed for repair or replace ment without necessarily removing any of the other units.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a longitudinal section of my device illustrating the relation of the superheater to the smoke box, fire tube and tube sheet of the boiler. -Fig. 2 is a front view of the device taken substantially on the lines 2-2 of Fig. 1.

Referring to the drawings in detail, the reference character 10 designates the forward portion of a locomotive or stationary boiler, provided with the usual fire tubes 11, smoke box 12, tube sheet 13 and dry pipe 14. The s'uperheater comprises a saturated steam header 15, into which the dry pipe 14 discharges, the superheated steam header 16, and the superheating elements or units which project rearwardly into the fire tube 11 and the inlet and outlet ends of which are expanded respectively into the inlet and outlet headers 15 and 16.

The fire tubes of the locomotive are ar ranged in vertical and horizontal rows as is usual in boiler construction, but only the upper four horizontal rows are utilized, so far as the present drawings are concerned, to elucidate the principles of myinvention.

In order to explain the invention I show in Fig. 2 three vertical rows of fire tubes and of course a corresponding number of superheater units, and a ortion of the latter I designate as A, B, D, E, F, G and H. In the specific construction shown in this application the upwardly projecting end portions of the unit are expanded into the header chambers with the end portions of the upper two units A and O lying on one side of a vertical plane passing through the axes of a vertical row of boiler tubes, and with the end portions of the lower two units B and D lying on the opposite sides of said plane and with the said portions on either side lying in front of one another. The construction and arrangement thus' shown and described are such that an unit can be reremoved from the boiler independently of the other.

'of how to remove all the units of one vertical row will make it clear how to remove one or more units of other vertical rows,

and an explanation of the method of removmg the element will suifice to explain the arrangement whereby such removal may be accomplished. It will also be understood that units E and F of one of the vertical rows correspond to units A and C of an adjacent row, and that unit G and H correspond with units B and- D. Take the middle row, as seen in Fig. 2, and suppose it 1s desired to remove unit A. In this case it is only necessary to disconnect the ends thereof from the headers, turn said ends slightly to the right so that unit 0 will not be in its path, and withdraw the same between the units C and D. To remove unit B (assuming the others to be in position) disconnect the ends thereof from the headers, turn said ends slightly to the left so that unit D will not be in its path, and withdraw between C and D. To remove C (assuming the other unit to be in position) disconnect the ends thereof from the headers, turn the rear end thereof slightly to the left and withdraw this end between the ends of units A and G, which are connected to the superheated steam header. It will be seen that in this case the ends of this unit on the superheater side are unobstructed. It will also be apparent that the rear end of this unit cannot be turned to the right because of the superheated ends of unit A. To remove D (assuming the others to be in position) disconnect the ends thereof from the headers, turn the rear end thereof slightly to the right and withdraw this end between the ends of units B and E, which are connected to the superheated steam header. As in case with unit C, the end of unit D on the superheated side is then obstructed. The rear end of this unit cannot be turned to the leftbecause of the superheated end of unit B.

The ends of units B, C and D are bent outwardly, which, as will be seen, provides.

a path or lane for the withdrawal of the upper units. It will be understood, of course, that the ends of units A and C are spaced sufliciently far apart from B and D to permit any end to pass between them; that is to say, spaced a distance equal to or slightly greater than the external diameter of the unit. The result is that the end portions of the units on one side of a vertical plane passing through the. fire tube may be, and preferably are, located substantially in front of each other, resulting in great economy of space as compared with that type in which the end portions are so arranged that they are normally out of each others path.

lVhat I claim is:

1. The combination with a boiler having a plurality of fire tubes, arranged one above another in the same vertical plane, of a header provided with steam chambers, and superheater units projecting rearwardly into the fire tubes and having upwardly projecting end portions which are expanded into such chambers with the end portions of the upper units lying on one side and the end portions of the lower units lying on the opposite side of a plane passing through the axes of said tubes, and with the said portions on either side lying in front of one another, said end portions of any unit adapted to be shifted laterally so that any unit can be removed from the boiler independently of the others.

2. The combination with a boiler having a plurality of fire tubes arranged one above another in the same vertical plane, of a header provided'with steam chambers, and superheating units projecting rearwardly into the fire tubes and having upwardly projecting end portions expanded into said chambers, the end portions of a plurality of upper units lying on one side and the end portions of a plurality of lower units lying on the opposite side of a plane passing through the axes of said fire tubes, said end portions on either side located substantially behind one another and the portions on one side being sufliciently spaced from the portions on the other side to permit any of'said portions to be laterally shifted, whereby any one ofsaid units may be removed independently of the others.

3. The combination with a boiler-having a plurality of fire tubes arranged one above another in the same vertical plane, of a header provided with steam chambers, and superheating units projecting rearwardly into the fire tubes and having upwardly projecting end portions expanded into said chamber, a series of said end portions lying on one side and a series of end portions lying on the opposite side of a plane passing through the axes of said fire tubes, the end portions of either side located substantially behind each other, but capable of being laterally shifted whereby any unit is independently removable.

4. The combination of a boiler having a plurality of fire tubes arranged in horizontal and vertical rows, each of the vertical rows comprising at least four fire tubes, of a header provided with steam chambers, and superheater units projecting rearwardly into the fire tubes and having upwardly projecting end portions which are expanded into said chambers with the end portions of succeeding units lying on one side and the end portions of succeeding units lying on the opposite side of a plane passing through the axes of said tubes, and with the said portions on either side lying in 'front of one another, said end portions of any unit adapted to be shifted laterally so that any unit can be removed from the boiler independently' of the others.

5. The combination with a boiler having a plurality of fire tubes arranged in horizontal and vertical rows, each of the vertical rows comprising at least four fire tubes, of a header provided with steam chambers and superheating units projecting rearwardly into the fire tubes and having upwardly projecting end portions expanded into said chambers, the end portion of the upper units lying on one side and the end portions of the lower units lying on the opposite side of a plane passing through the axes of said fire tubes, said end portions on either side located substantially behind one another and the portions on one side being sufliciently spaced from the portions on the other side to permit any of said portions to be laterally shifted, whereby any one of said units maybe removed independently of the other.

6. The combination with a boiler having a plurality of fire tubes arranged in horizontal and vertical rows, each of the vertical rows comprising at least four fire tubes, of a header provided with steam chambers and superheating units projecting rearwardly into the fire tubes and having u-pwardly projecting end portions expanded into said chamber, said end portions located in series on the opposite sides of a plane passing through the axes of said fire tubes,

the end portions on either side located sub-- stantially behind each other, but capable of being laterally shifted whereby any unit is independently removable.

In testimony whereof I afiix my signature hereto.

JOHN PRIMROSE. 

